>> BOWEN: I'm Jared Bowen.

Coming up on Open Studio: as he opens an adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard starring Mikhail Baryshnikov, we speak with Ukrainian director Igor Golyak.

Plus, We walk the runway looking at the fashion of Patrick Kelly.

>> And the hats.

You'll see so many hats and accessories in the exhibition.

So you see those influences of his upbringing in the South.

>> BOWEN: And our roundup of what to see in Arts This week.

It's all now on Open Studio.

♪ ♪ First up, director Igor Golyak.

His Arlekin Players Theatre is based in Needham-- now a world away from his native Ukraine.

I spoke with him before he headed to Moldova to help refugees of the war in Ukraine and just as he was launching a tour of his off-Broadway hit The Orchard starring Mikhail Baryshnikov.

It's onstage now at the Emerson Paramount Center.

And I spoke with Golyak at our studio at the Boston Public Library.

During the pandemic, Igor Golyak exploded what our notions of theater could be, turning Arlekin Players Theatre, a fringe theater company in Needham, Massachusetts, into one of the most innovative in the world.

His journey here, though, is a familiar one.

He is Jewish, he is from Ukraine, and he was a refugee, making his way to the United States with his family when he was 11.

The story of refugees escaping war is one that he has told often in his work.

Now he's leaning heavily on his fellow artists to help refugees who have escaped the humanitarian crisis in his native Ukraine.

>> Yesterday someone sent me pictures of them attacking of a black box theater in Kiev, which has been turned into a shelter.

It looks just like our theater here.

This could be us.

This is us.

I'm sending a message from our theater to your theater.

A message of hope.

We are with you.

We stand with you.

We are against Putin's war.

>> BOWEN: I caught up with him before he left for Moldova to work with families fleeing the war.

Igor Golyak, thank you so much for being with us.

>> Thank you so much for inviting me.

>> BOWEN: So, just to start, you were born in Kiev?

>> I was.

>> BOWEN: You, your family came here from Ukraine.

You started an organization, Artists for Ukraine.

What are you doing?

>> We're actually going over there.

There's seven artists, two from Boston, including myself, and five from New York.

And we're going over there to Moldova to spend some time there working with refugees.

>> BOWEN: And is this all arts-based?

Is that what, what's fueling what you'll do when you get there?

>> Yeah, it's all art-based training.

There is drama therapy, there's music therapy.

>> BOWEN: But how do you use art?

What is art therapy, especially when you're working with refugees who have just seen immeasurable horror?

>> Well, I think there's a bunch of different things that are involved.

Some are giving them tools for survival and for coping with, with the trauma that they had faced and that they carry with them.

And also a hope for... for the future, a way to connect these people together and give them hope and give them... and support them.

>> BOWEN: I read an interview with you where you said something and, we'll make sure it's true, but something I hadn't heard people say that the... that art isn't necessarily a solution.

You often hear that art will save our culture, especially in really difficult times such as these.

Are... do you have skeptical?

Are you skeptical in that regard?

>> It's very difficult for me to say what it actually... does it change people?

Especially with what's happening in the world right now, with what's happening with the country where I grew up in Ukraine.

And, you know, there's, there's a huge internal conflict because I got my education in Russia.

I'm originally from Ukraine.

And when, when one... for one to say art saves the world, where I saw the art that was happening in Russia, and I'm from Ukraine, and Russia is doing just horrific things in Ukraine.

>> BOWEN: Is it... so help me understand here, is it hard to reconcile the art that existed in Russia with what Russia is doing right now?

>> Yeah.

Because... because if art could save the world, or, or if our art could really change what Putin is doing... >> BOWEN: And it's not changing the direction of this war.

>> And it's not changing the direction of this war.

So, you know, maybe I need some time for, for this to pass, to actually have some distance, to be able to understand how do I reconcile those things.

>> BOWEN: So let's talk about what you're doing here with Arlekin Players Theatre.

One of the first pieces you presented in this moment of worldwide conflict is The Orchard, based on, of course, the Chekhov play.

What was the impetus for that?

>> Well, we actually started with... during the pandemic, we started with State vs. Natasha, which was the first experiment in virtual theater-- and whatever that is, virtual theater, digital theater, digital art.

>> Natasha, you're the baddest damn chick on earth.

Would you marry me?

He's mine.

He was mine.

I had no intention of giving him away, and then she comes, and voila!

>> And then we had Jessica Hecht and Mikhail Baryshnikov come to see the show virtually on Zoom.

And we started talking to them.

I started talking to them about the possibility of doing Cherry Orchard.

And, um, and then we met, we did a... as... we did a fully virtual version called Chekhov O.S.

on Zoom, where Baryshnikov played Chekhov.

>> (speaking Russian) >> And it was filmed in green screen studio with live actor, and... and audience interacting with this live actor, choosing scenes, and so forth.

we continued this experimentation now with The Orchard, which is a hybrid, which is it has a live in-theater production and also a virtual production that informs the live and in-theater experience.

>> BOWEN: You are so singular in the way that you did this during the pandemic.

So many people tried to figure out how to be digitally present during the pandemic.

But you, you took it to a different level.

>> So the job of the director is to come into a space, analyze the space.

What are the advantages of this specific space that are not present in a different space?

So what are the advantages of a virtual space?

What does that give us?

What can we play with?

And it's just the... it's just kind of the way of thinking that I've always used in all of my productions.

And it's just the place of action of this production took... was virtual.

So, for me, nothing changed.

>> BOWEN: And is nothing... is nothing off-limits?

Is it boundless when you enter the, the digital realm, the virtual realm?

>> It... it is boundless, and that's why it's so difficult, because you actually don't know.

You're... we are just discovering the things that affect people.

Like we know in a real theater how can we affect people.

We can affect with lights, we can affect with music, we can affect how we position the audience members, where the stage is, where the actors are, blocking in 3D space.

A lot of those things, tools that you could use to affect are taken away.

So what are the tools that you could use?

For example, immediate interaction with the audience.

Like you could put something in a chat and the actors can see that.

That doesn't exist in, in a live theater production.

So what other advantages of virtual... of that space, be it virtual or at a train station, that exist during that time here and now?

>> BOWEN: Do you go back to traditional theater after this or is that, is that done for you?

And now it's this new hybrid mode.

It's just you keep pushing in that realm.

>> I'm interested in experimenting with, with the virtual, the hybrid.

We've had a bunch of successes, and we've had some failures, and... and we're learning and we're continually moving.

For me, like, conventional theater doesn't really exist.

Like it's either... it either... it either... theater either sparks something, be it virtual or live in-person, or it doesn't.

Like there's no other thing.

There's, there's no other theater.

It's either... it, it either comes together and makes, makes people connect, and makes people feel something, and embraces something, or it doesn't.

And it could be anywhere.

It could be on top of this building.

>> BOWEN: Or in my living room as I enjoy it a couple times during the pandemic.

>> (chuckling): Or in, in your living room.

(both laughing) Yes.

>> BOWEN: All right, well, Igor Golyak, always great to speak with you.

Thank you so much.

>> Thank you so much.

Thank you.

♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: Designer Patrick Kelly overcame so many barriers to make a splash and a name on the fashion scene.

His work and life are part of a retrospective on view at the Peabody Essex Museum.

With the show wrapping up this weekend, we're revisiting our trip down the Runway of Love.

Thank you for meeting us here.

>> Thank you for having me, Jared.

Good to see you.

>> BOWEN: So tell us, who is Patrick Kelly?

♪ ♪ >> Patrick Kelly is and was a visionary.

A visionary with his ambitions for self as a fashion designer.

Born at the height of Jim Crow in Vicksburg, Mississippi, made his way to Atlanta.

But most importantly and what we see in the exhibition is that trip that he took to Paris, where he became an expat, and never looked back.

>> BOWEN: And a fashion star.

>> And a fashion star and still a rising star.

>> BOWEN: Well, let's meet Patrick Kelly in his own clothing.

>> We wanted to make sure people met the originator of some of those design inspirations and influences, which were his matriarchal muses-- his mother, his grandmother-- and so many other Black women in the community.

>> BOWEN: He grew up watching what they did and loved it.

>> Absolutely.

And he comments often on, you know, Yves Saint Laurent has nothing on, you know, the front row of a church in the South on Sunday.

>> BOWEN: Because it was filled with high style.

>> Absolutely filled with high style-- and the hats.

You'll see so many hats and accessories in the exhibition.

So you see those influences of his upbringing in the South.

And I mentioned that no, maybe he never came back, but it never left him.

And we see these beautiful overalls that people look at as something that is sort of domestic workwear, if you will.

And it does harken back to, you know, ideas about working in fields, and slavery, and that upbringing in Jim Crow South.

But it's also a sense of authenticity, and this reclamation of self, and this unabashed, unashamed, unapologetic presence that he had as a Black man from the South.

♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: You love this particular... >> Like who does a turtleneck bodysuit in black and red with a tulle train for bridal with the candy box hat, right?

And then it's kind of everything-- the bows, the roses, the sweetheart neckline.

And it's also the epitome of the '80s.

(Theo laughing) >> BOWEN (chuckling): What's, what's happening here?

>> What's happening here is the freedom of the '80s to wear a t-shirt, and tights, and pumps and it be a complete ensemble.

(Jared laughs) Just sunglasses, Mona Lisa earrings, good to go.

(Jared laughing) But, I mean, it's a nice way to kind of get to know Patrick Kelly, too.

>> Bowen: And a unicorn hor-- horn.

>> And a unicorn horn.

Everyone needs a unicorn.

>> BOWEN: That's not easy to say-- unicorn horn.

>> Unicorn horn, it's not, but we did well.

(both laughing) >> BOWEN: You did.

I did not.

♪ ♪ He worked 24/7, from what I understand.

>> Absolutely.

>> BOWEN: Would what do you make of that work ethic?

>> I mean, he comes from the South.

You know, that that's a sentiment that you think about.

You, you work hard and you're rewarded.

And he was... he was well aware of all of the potential challenges that laid ahead of him.

>> BOWEN: Here we see Patrick Kelly.

>> Yes.

>> BOWEN: And here's this giant... Before we talk about the clothes more, there's this giant smile.

>> Yes.

>> BOWEN: We see the joy in all of his clothes.

>> Of course.

>> BOWEN: It's just synonymous with the man, with the creation, the art.

>> It is.

It is.

Anyone that encountered Patrick talked about the joy that he imparted on his work and wanting to make sure that people felt loved.

He talks about his mom was like, "No one's going to pay attention to Black women."

He's like, "I'm going to, and I'm going to make sure they feel loved."

>> BOWEN: Where did teddy bears and buttons come into his work?

>> Hm... We have to talk about the buttons first.

He brought that to his original designs and thinking about the way that his mother and his grandmother took these collections of buttons, these jars of buttons that they would have.

And it's like, maybe they don't match, but we can fashion the identity that you want to present.

And you see that in a lot of the accessories.

You think about the teddy bears, those things that, that offer a sense of, of warmth.

There's a sense of domesticity and interiority.

Patrick's inviting you into his personhood as a human being and then as a designer.

And then, again, a lot of this exuberance that we see is that Black queer joy.

And we see it taking the shape in certain forms of resistance as well, and kind of pushing down certain stereotypes and tropes, too.

♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: Theo, here we arrive at the end of the show with this really striking dress.

How did you land on this being the lasting image?

>> I mean, it is a lasting image, right?

And it's something that it is a salute to heartstrings.

And it really acknowledges that this was a career that ended a bit too soon.

And we think about H.I.V.

and AIDS in the '80s and we think about kind of the whole cusp of the conversation we've been having with this exhibition, and this beautiful presentation of joy.

Even though there is a bit of an underlying current of pain, and you see it with this salute and this tribute with DIFFA based in Atlanta and fundraising for the H.I.V.

and AIDS crisis and epidemic.

♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: How old was he when he died?

>> He was 35.

>> BOWEN: How much do we see his clothing alive today out on the streets?

>> Oh... (laughing): If you take a spin through the, the exhibition and you see the evolution of creativity, and expression, and access as well.

We were talking about the buttons earlier and Patrick Kelly taking exactly what he had at his fingertips and fashioning that into what we could obviously call an empirical legacy in fashion.

You know, we look at Jeremy Scott, Virgil Abloh, Kerby Jean-Raymond, we look at all of these people that have engaged with his inspiration and going back to to Josephine Baker, we see that every day now.

And again, we were talking a little bit about how it used to be something that was a discussion of elitism or class, if you will, to upcycle objects or clothing.

And now we see that as kind of, you know, la mode du jour with upcycling fashions.

And that's one of the truest expressions and Patrick Kelly managed to fashion that into, again, a historical yet contemporary design empire that we're... we see every day-- teddy bears, buttons, and beyond.

>> BOWEN: Thank you so much.

>> Thank you, Jared.

♪ ♪ >> BOWEN: It's time for Arts This Week, your download of the latest arts and culture events in and around Boston.

Boston has come into its own as a public art city.

Each of its neighborhoods now punctuated in artistic moments, from showstopping murals to sculpture waiting to catch your eye.

Public art creates identity.

Yes, we can delight or be moved by what we see, but we also know that there's an artist or a group of them sharing a story, a perspective, or maybe their hopes for the community.

Think of it as a conversation.

There's now such a proliferation of public art that digital artist Julia Swanson has crafted the Art Walk Project, a guide introducing us to art populating six neighborhoods including East Boston, Chinatown, and South Boston.

It features maps, titles, and artist names.

Her charted tours are free and self-guided.

There was time not all that long ago when I yearned for Boston to be a public art destination like Chicago or New York.

Now, with public art increasingly woven into the city's fiber, it appears we may have arrived at our destination.

Or, hopefully, the first of many stops.

♪ ♪ The late, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson committed himself to what came to be known as the Century Cycle-- plays examining Black life in each decade of the 20th century.

The second work he wrote in that series is Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and there is a magnificent production playing now at the Huntington Theatre.

>> Tell me about them bones here, Loomis.

Tell me what you done seen.

>> BOWEN: It takes place in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911, a time when Black men and women are free, but the ravages of slavery and the insidious ways it still creeps into society are present.

Wilson's boarding house setting is wonderfully rich.

There is the community of regulars-- family, really-- who love to spar, and joke, and be introspective.

But the community's energy churns with every newcomer-- toting their literal and metaphorical baggage.

Chief among them is Herald Loomis, who arrives with his young daughter.

He is bent and brooding, carrying a deep darkness, or as one of the other boarding house denizens describes, he's a man who forgot his song.

Wilson's portraiture is exceptional as we move deeper into each boarding house character.

Watching as they, with their disparate backgrounds and personalities, bang and bond together.

The Huntington production is a stunner, charged with electricity as the layers of Loomis' past are revealed to us.

When it arrives, that revelation is an emotionally explosive one.

At its core is actor James Milord.

His nuanced, mysterious, and raw performance of Loomis is one I will likely never forget.

♪ ♪ This is a golden time to visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

It's presenting the largest gathering of shimmering work by Italian Renaissance artist Simone Martini ever assembled in the U.S.

In the 1300s, Martini was a painter to popes, princes, and aristocracy.

He commemorated Christian figures and themes in halos and ornaments of gold.

700 years later, his manipulation of gold is still entrancing.

The intricate shading and etching, how he used gold for glow, for glistening, or to toss around light.

The exhibition then launches us from Martini's golden age to three contemporary artists using the metal to their own effect.

They are Kehinde Wiley, whom you might recall for his portrait of President Barack Obama, Stacy Lynn Waddell, and Titus Kaphar.

Kaphar uses gold in a series of portraits of Black men titled The Jerome Project.

They're all men with the same first and last name who have been incarcerated, their faces made radiant by a Martini-esque arc of gold.

What we can see of their faces, that is.

Because Kaphar also uses tar to swallow their images-- the amount of tar corresponding to the length of their incarceration.

The entire exhibition is energizing for the way in which it refuses to allow the Renaissance works to remain relics of the past.

How they're instead a channel, which today's artists are putting to use with an urgency and immediacy.

♪ ♪ This has been an era in which we're reexamining history, recognizing the stories and people whose lives, work, and contributions have frequently been excluded.

It's fitting then that the Concord Museum-- which is literally situated at the center of so much of the country's history-- should complete its recent renovation and expansion with a more expansive look back.

You'll still find Ralph Waldo Emerson's chair and Louisa May Alcott's tea kettle but also the looking glass of an enslaved person, a sculptural representation of Indigenous people's legacy by Native American artists.

The Concord Museum has a dizzying array of artifacts from the country's early days and its foundational thinkers.

The clock that kept time during the shot heard round the world-- which still chimes.

New period rooms and a fascinating look at Concord's second revolution when people like Frederick Douglass eyed Concord's conclave of thinkers as a bastion for the Abolitionist movement.

It might be a cliché to say that history is alive here, but at the very least, it is revived.

Now my pick for what to see next week.

A show cleverly summed up in the lyrics: Divorced, beheaded, died.

Divorced, beheaded, survived.

SIX, the Tony-winning musical about the six wives of Henry VIII opens at the Emerson Colonial Theatre.

And in the guise of pop stars, these queens have a lot to say.

This is your arts download.

I'll see you back here, and at SIX, next week.

And that is all for this edition of Open Studio.

Next week, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, artist Titus Kaphar brings us the gilded cage, using gold to shine a light on the men behind bars.

As always, you can visit us online at GBH.org/OpenStudio.

And you can see us first on YouTube.com/GBHNews.

Remember to follow us on Instagram and Twitter @OpenStudioGBH.

I'm @TheJaredBowen.

Before we go, very Friday Jim Braude and Margery Eagan offer up live performances on Boston Public Radio.

So we leave you now with cellist Leo Eguchi.

He's commissioned works by immigrant and first-generation American composers tackling the question, "What does your American-ness sound like?"

This performance was composed by Kareem Roustum.

I'm Jared Bowen.

Thanks for watching and we'll see you next week.

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